When President Joe Biden delivers his first address to Congress on Wednesday, two of the past year’s ground-shaking events will be hard to ignore.
The room where he’ll deliver it is exactly where a riot of would-be insurrectionists tried to prevent him from becoming president. And for the first time in history, a pair of women will be seated on the rostrum — and both will be wearing face masks. When the President enters the House chamber to the shouted introduction from the House Sergeant at Arms, he will also be wearing a mask before removing it to speak. Biden plans to reference both the January 6 riot and the historic tableau behind him during his remarks, according to people familiar with his speech preparations, a nod to the weighty environment in which he will make the highly symbolic yearly address for the first time. Before he speaks, he’ll meet with Capitol staff who weathered the insurrection attempt. Biden has been working with his speechwriters and senior aides for weeks on remarks that will both acknowledge the unusual circumstances of his address — only 200 people will be allowed in the room, compared to a normal crowd of more than 1,000 — while still capturing the sweeping agenda he has sought to enact over his first 100 days in office. The biggest challenge facing Biden and his speechwriters in the final days before his remarks was paring down the address, one official told CNN. The ongoing pandemic, impossible to ignore in the drastically altered setting, will constitute a major portion of Biden’s speech, officials say. His principal 100 day milestone, getting 200 million vaccine shots in American arms, has been achieved. And on Tuesday he announced an easing of mask guidelines after saying he would ask Americans to wear them for 100 days. The heart of Biden’s speech is expected to be a formal unveiling of the second part of his jobs and infrastructure plan, which includes new spending on child care, family leave and education paid for by a tax hike on the wealthy. People familiar with the speech describe a unifying message akin to Biden’s promises at the outset of his presidency to bring the country together — a message likely to cause scoffs among Republicans, who have felt left out after Biden pushed through his initial legislative agenda without them. Meticulously planned and rehearsed A highly engaged writer, Biden has spent hours debating the language and themes of his speech with his team, according to people familiar with his preparation. He has also consulted with members of his family. He has reviewed drafts and sent back handwritten revisions in the margins, along with dictating portions of his speech during writing sessions in the White House residence and Oval Office — and during quiet reflection back home in Delaware, where aides say he is at once relaxed and focused. As president, Biden has prepared extensively for some of his most high-profile events, including a prime-time address to the nation in March and a solo press conference a few weeks later. For that address, Biden spent days line editing his remarks, ensuring he was striking the appropriate tone while using exactly the right words and phrases. Biden did not want to make a single mistake, he told officials. Ahead of the news conference he held an informal mock session with his team. Biden is known to rehearse his major speeches repeatedly and will spend most of Wednesday preparing for this address. At some point before Wednesday’s 9 p.m. ET remarks, he is expected to stage a full run-through at the White House. Previous presidents have set up a podium and teleprompter in the White House Map Room to get as thorough a feel for the speech as possible. Unlike any of his most recent predecessors, however, Biden will know what the view from the microphone will look like. He spent eight years looking out at the House Chamber — and the back of President Barack Obama’s head — during State of the Union speeches.
